The long-running case involving 14 John Doe victims who suffered sexual abuse at the hands of former New Hanover County Public Schools teacher Michael Kelly has been settled for $5.75 million dollars.

The lawsuit against New Hanover County Public Schools was filed in July 2019 by both the Rhine Law Firm, P.C. and The Lea/Schultz Law Firm, P.C.

Over at WHQR, reporter Ben Schachtman has an excellent write-up of the settlement news. Like me, he has been covering this case since its inception and his latest report is summarized in the opening paragraph (below), but I encourage readers to take a look at the entire article.

The settlement ends four years of litigation in a case filed by men who testified they were sexually abused and exploited by former New Hanover County Schools teacher Michael Earl Kelly. In addition to the $5.75 million, paid exclusively by Liberty Mutual and its subsidiaries, the school has agreed to expand training on recognizing and reporting abuse and publishing a report on its efforts to improve Title IX compliance and sexual abuse prevention. The school board expressed “sorrow” over the damage done by Kelly, but its statement did not include an apology or an admission of wrongdoing.

The Rhine Law Firm, which represented the 14 plaintiffs, issued a joint news release with New Hanover schools.

“The $5.75 million agreement will end the litigation against the Board for allegations arising out of Michael Kelly’s sexual misconduct. Kelly was a chemistry teacher who taught at both Laney High School and Isaac Bear Early College High School in Wilmington,” the release reads in part.

“With this settlement, these 14 survivors of Kelly’s abuse will be able to get the treatment and closure that they so desperately need,” Joel Rhine of the Rhine Law Firm, P.C. said.

Per the statement, the agreement will require the schools’ insurer to contribute the full amount of the settlement.

“This settlement is fully covered with the district’s purchase of insurance and will not have an impact on our budget nor on the incredible work that happens in our schools on a daily basis,” said Board Chair Pete Wildeboer.

“Today’s agreement is an opportunity to move forward from a difficult period in this district’s history,” added Martin Ramey, also of the Rhine Law Firm, who negotiated the settlement for the 14 Plaintiffs. “It is now time to look ahead and to work both as a district and as a community to ensure this doesn’t happen again in New Hanover County Schools.”

The statement goes on to say that the New Hanover School Board and district “have committed to continued efforts to make the New Hanover County Schools a model for proactive prevention efforts, strong policies and procedures for student safety, and a culture of vigilance.”

The settlement also calls for New Hanover Schools to make “several important programmatic commitments,” that include expanded training for students, staff, and administrators on sexual abuse and recognizing and reporting such abuse, and a public report of its efforts to improve the school’s policies and practices with regarding to Title IX compliance and sexual abuse prevention.

“The Board has been active over the last three years to improve policies, expand our Title IX department, provide student and staff training, and build out our reporting tools and procedures,” Mr. Wildeboer said. “These additional commitments reflect our recognition that there is more work to do.”

In June, a judge denied New Hanover’s request to dismiss the case.

Michael Kelly was first arrested in 2018 on four sex crime charges related to a student, but the case quickly escalated as more victims came forward culminating in over 60 charges against him spanning almost two decades and 14 victims.

Michael Kelly

Kelly pleaded guilty in June of 2019 to the majority of charges against him.

He was sentenced to a maximum of 24 years and three months for 57 consolidated charges against him and the judge added a maximum of an additional 7 years following the completion of that first sentence.

Michael Kelly: A timeline of a serial abuser

February 2o18:
Kelly is arrested and is initially charged with one count of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and three counts of indecent liberties with a student. His arrest was the result of a joint operation by the FBI and the New Hanover County Sheriff Department.

March 2018:
More victims are discovered and more than a dozen new charges are added.  At that time, the full list of charges against Kelly included:

• One count statutory sex offense with a child
• Two counts solicitation to commit a felony
• Five counts of indecent liberties with a child
• Five counts of sexual exploitation of a minor
• Sixteen counts of indecent liberties with a student

April 2018: Seven more victims are identified and the number of felony charges rose to 59.

• 1 Count Indecent Liberties/Student (Bond: $1,000,000.00)
• 1 Count Statutory Sex Offense w/ Child Under 15 years old
• 3 Counts Solicitation to commit (Bond: $500,000.00)
• 1 Count Attempted Sexual Offense w/ Student
• 1 Count Sexual Exploitation of  Minor (First Degree)
• 8 Counts Sexual Exploitation of  Minor (Second Degree)
• 1 Count Sexual Exploitation of  Minor (Third Degree)
• 23 Counts Indecent Liberties w/ Student  (Bond: $500,000.00)
• 20 Counts Indecent Liberties w/ child (Bond: $100,000.00)

June of 2019: 
Kelly pleads guilty to the majority of the 61 felony charges that were pending against him. Kelly surrendered his teaching license to the state in July 2019. Judge John Nobles sentences Kelly to 16 to 24 years in prison on the most serious charges of child exploitation and statutory sex offense.

Kelly’s additional 57 charges are consolidated for judgment, with Nobles adding a sentence of 20-84 months (up to 7 years) to be served following completion of the first sentence.

Kelly will serve a maximum of 24 years and three months and a maximum of an additional 7 years following the completion of the first sentence.

July of 2019:
Holliday resigned less than a week after the New Hanover Sheriff indicated an investigation had been opened into claims that the district was warned about a teacher sexually abusing students yet failed to act.

Holliday has been named in the investigation by at least two sets of parents who had complained about Kelly and other teacher behavior, according to Port City Daily. The parents allege Holliday did not act and did not report the complaints to the district.

That month, the civil lawsuit is filed by both the Rhine Law Firm, P.C. and The Lea/Schultz Law Firm, P.C.

April of 2020:
Four other victims are added to the civil lawsuit. The complaint document at that time included 10 John Does and graphic details.

May of 2021:
More victims of Michael Kelly are added to the lawsuit against the New Hanover County School district. The total number of victims rises to 13.